In pictures: India's coal scandal

India has seen days of protest over the controversial sale of coalfields by the authorities after a recent report by the government auditors said the country lost $33bn (£20bn) by selling coalfields cheaply.

Parliament has been deadlocked for nine days with the opposition parties demanding that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh resign since he was heading the coal ministry at the time of the sale. The anger has spilt onto the streets as well with many burning effigies of Mr Singh.

India is one of the largest producers of coal in the world with around 246 billion tonnes of coal reserves.

Coal is the most important and abundant fossil fuel in the country and accounts for 55% of India's energy needs, government officials say.

Most of India's coal reserves are found in the southern and central states like Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

The recent report by auditors said that coalfields were allotted without auction from 2005 to 2009.

It said mining rights were handed out in a process that "lacked transparency and objectivity" and the sale was expected to benefit private companies.

The auditors' report is the latest in a series of financial scandals to hit the Congress-led government. The sale of coalfields has been dubbed "Coalgate" by the opposition.

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